Road Project: Governor says Whatsapp pictures moved him to action
This is the second time Governor Eno has said his attention was drawn to a deplorable road through pictures and videos sent to him via WhatsApp.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has urged residents of the state to stop vandalising government projects.
He gave the advice on Wednesday while inaugurating an underground flood control project and the reconstructed Atiku Abubakar Avenue in Uyo, the state capital.
Speaking at the event, which was streamed live on Facebook, the governor said he got wind of the deplorable state of the road through pictures sent to him via WhatsApp message from an unknown person.
overlay-clevercloseLogo
Mr Eno said he immediately showed the pictures to his deputy and insisted that he must visit the road the same day.
“The road was completely impassable. And I told the deputy governor that we must visit this place immediately from the church programme,” Mr Eno said at the event attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“What this shows is that all of us can collectively run this state. The money is not my money but belongs to all of us.
“Anything you see that you believe the government should intervene, you should bring it to our table. You can draw our attention to such issues and we will work with you.
“We try to run an open government, one across party lines because knowledge is not based on one person or in one party. We can do it together. Together one of us can be in government. But please, as government fixes these things, do not destroy them,” the governor said.
“Do not vandalize projects that the government has spent a lot of money to build. It is not my money, it is our collective money. And so if you destroy government property, know that it is part of your money that you are destroying,” Mr Eno said
Speaking before inaugurating the project, former President Jonathan who led a delegation of investors to the state a day earlier, said the project was a product of fate and circumstance.
He commended the governor for acknowledging that the money he used for the project was “state money” and not his money.
“I know of a governor who whenever he talks about the state money he refers to it as his money. He appropriates the state money to be his money but Eno calls it everyone’s money,” Mr Jonathan said and advised the people to take ownership of government projects and not destroy them.
“Looking at this project, you’ll see how the road has been transformed from a once flooding area to what we all witness today. In a world where flooding through global warming is affecting places like Dubai that is in the desert, this project reflects a governor that has focus.
“This project that we are commissioning today is a very critical one and it shows a focused leadership and we must commend the governor and his team,” Mr Jonathan said.
This is the second time that an unknown person has drawn the attention of Governor Eno to a deplorable road in the state. While flagging off the construction of Ediene Abak- Ikot Ekan road last month, the governor said he got wind of the road through pictures sent to him via WhatsApp.
“This road, surprisingly I give credit to school children who sent me the video of this road. I don’t know them, I wish I knew them but how they got my number I don’t also know. Of course, my number is in the public domain.
It was a rainy day. They were under the rain. They took pictures and sent to me and I forwarded the pictures to the commissioners for works and I told him because of these children, let’s do this road,” he said while flagging off Ediene Abak- Ikot Ekan road last month adding the state government has so far mobilised contractors for 20 roads.
In Nigeria, it is rare for governors to make their phone contacts accessible to citizens but Mr Eno said he would still keep his phone line open to the public.
